Everything Ron Bellamy told the media pre-Rutgers
On getting Jim Harbaugh back
I'm excited. Exciting, man. Always great to have coach around and on Saturday, seeing him on that sideline, it's going to be awesome for us. We are coach. We're a product of him. The way he exemplifies everything he does. These past three games we've tried to emulate everything that he's put in this program and to finally get him on the sideline on Saturday is going to be awesome.
On the production of the wide receiver room
Whenever you get an opportunity to make a play, make sure you're in the right spot at the right time to make a play. The quarterback is trusting that the receiver is going to do that. Roman and Cornelius have done a pretty good job thus far. Keep climbing, keep growing. We want to make sure we're super accountable and dependable receivers.
On Tyler Morris
Tyler, he's a kid that's Steady Eddie. He's a kid that you trust in those situations. Not just third downs but normal downs. First and second down. Tyler is one of those guys I just mentioned, being at the right place at the right time. When you get an opportunity to go make a play, go make it. That's Tyler. He has such a great feel for the game, understands how to get open, understands what the defense is trying to do. He knows how to work the chains for sure.
On recruiting feedback from the night game visit
Man, it was electric in there. It was awesome, right? Even for myself, I know you just mentioned—to answer your question. Just seeing those lights and having played here and just kind of seeing the transformation of the stadium, there were times where the lights went out and came back on and I was trying to read, go over scripts with the receivers. Like, man, it's dark in here (laughs). That was awesome. The Big House is—they've done a fantastic job with that and I think whoever was at that game would echo the same sentiments.
On whether he's had any catches like Cornelius Johnson had
No, but I used to always play around with your little cousins and stuff, you throw the ball over them and then tip it to yourself two or three times. That was an incredible play by Cornelius. I was proud of him seeing him make a big-time play like that.
On wide receiver blocking being an emphasis
Every week. A wide receiver is not just a person who catches a football. A complete wide receiver is someone who gets involved in the run game. That was a challenge that myself and Coach Harbaugh, we challenged the guys to be more assertive in the run game just so those long runs can pop and they did. I thought they did a pretty good job this last weekend. It's something that we know what we're capable of. You guys understand what this program is built on and having a coach that played a position that you're a tough football player, you're not just a receiver who is catching passes but you're also going to show up in the run game. The guys did a really good job with that.
On the importance of Roman Wilson being healthy
Obviously, you see the production. Having Roman out there gives us a different look on our offense. A guy that can help in the intermediate game or he can stretch a defense. You guys know he's an explosive receiver. He's shown that throughout his career. I'm proud of him. Just keep stacking the days up for Roman. The great thing about Roman and the rest of the guys, not just the receiver position but just our team in general, when you practice like that, it shows up on Saturdays. For Roman, that's been it. He's been having great weeks of practice and he's stacking up days. Gotta keep it rolling.
On whether he meets with Donovan Edwards during slumps
He has the best running backs coach in the nation, there's no need for me to encourage in that. He has Mike Hart and Mike Hart does a great job with Dono. Donovan, he knows. Every opportunity he gets, he's going to make the most of it and just keep working. Just keep climbing. I'm sure as conference play starts he'll get more on his plate but, Donovan, he wants to win. He wants to win every week and everything else will take care of itself.
On playing on grass vs. turf
Our grass wasn't very good when I played here (laughs). That's why we switched to the turf. That's the argument, right? Which is safer? I don't know. I've seen injuries on both. When I played here in Oosterbaan, we had the old astroturf. We practiced on that and then we had the grass and then we transitioned over to the field turf. I played on all three, I've seen injuries on all three. I don't know the science behind it. I'm not going to speculate on anything. It's sad to see the injuries that are occurring.
On whether he had a preference
I like grass. I'm a Southern guy. I like grass, man. It's one of those things for receivers, though, our footing is a little bit better on grass. Getting tackled is a little more forgiving on grass than it is on turf. My preference would be grass but it is what it is.
On the Rutgers defense
Man, Coach Schiano, man. I mentioned it to Coach Harbaugh but we exemplify a lot of things that he believes in and things that he do, we want to emulate that. Those guys do the same thing with Coach Schiano. Those guys are tough, disciplined, well-coached. Those guys play hard. This is a good Rutgers football team.
On whether he knows this is Big Ten play when watching Rutgers tape
Oh yeah, just look at the teams they've played. They've played two Power Five schools and pretty much dominated. Those guys are not to be taken lightly, they have our ultimate attention, our focus, and we know that it's going to be a battle Saturday. Everything we do, we want to make sure we're detailed in everything we do just so we put ourselves in a position to be successful.
On the freshmen wide receivers
They're doing well. You can't treat them like freshmen. I tell them all the time, whoever we play, they're not going to look across and say, hey, this is an 18-year-old freshman here, take it easy on them. No, they're going to be attacking them like they would any other player. That has to be the mindset and we don't treat them like freshmen. Those guys are diligent about their craft, that's the thing I like about them. That's why they're getting opportunities. Those guys are constantly wanting to learn and making sure they're dialed in and detailed with everything that they do.
On his top five receivers in the NFL right now
I'm bias, I'm from Louisiana so you're going to have the Justin Jefferson's, you're going to have the Odell's, Jamar Chase, I love those guys. They're from my home state. Who else would I put in that mix? I like St. Brown. St. Brown is a guy—I heard the question you guys asked to Jesse earlier about do you watch film. I do. I watch some NFL stuff. Conceptually, football is a big copycat league. From the collegiate to the professional level, a lot of people emulate a lot of things people do. For me, I like to watch the receivers especially some of the top guys, really, you make cut-ups and show your guys like, hey, we could try this release or you could try this type of route stem. Different things of that nature. The more tools you have in your toolbox as a receiver, the more open you can get. Our guys seem to like it. I'll ask the guys, they tend to like the guys their games are very similar to. Roman may say, hey, can I see some Tyreek Hill? Some of the more explosive guys in the league because they want to see what their releases look like at the top of the route, things of that nature. I think those guys, not to say they're saying this is my game, I want to take part of their game, they're some of the top guys in the league, right? They want to add it to their arsenal.
On how much he relies on analytics when coaching receivers
From that standpoint, really the coverages dictate what you want to do. Just kind of seeing what a team likes to do on this down and distance and in this situation. If it's a heavy-pressure team. Really you want to attack what the defense is doing because those guys really don't change who they are. They make adjustments to what the offense do but you don't want to change who you are because you want to play fast, right? The more confident your kids are in the scheme the faster they play and the more success they'll have. From an analytical standpoint, we are looking at that. OK, this team plays this coverage, they play in this leverage. We want to attack those things.
On what he tells the receivers to help J.J. after his interceptions
When the ball is in the air, have an aggressive mindset. It is your football. I've always believed if the quarterback throws you the football, he's showing confidence in you. Go get it. Our guys know that, that's the mindset in our room. If the ball is in the air, it's ours. That's how a receiver could be there. I mentioned earlier, being at the right place at the right time. If the depth is 15 yards, 16 yards, you make sure you're at that depth. If the timing of the route is at a specific time, just make sure that you're there. When the opportunity presents itself, go make the play. That's how receivers help quarterbacks.
On the spacing issues
Like I mentioned, right place, right time. You want to make sure you're super detailed. You hear coaches—it's not just coach talk, right? You hear the word detailed a lot. When plays are designed, it's to hold guys in certain places to allow someone else to get open. If 10, 11 guys—why I love football is because it's the most team-oriented sport. Basketball, a guy could take over, right? Score 60. Not to say it's not a team sport. Baseball, a pitcher throwing a shutout or someone hits a couple of home runs. You can kind of dominate that way. If one piece of the link doesn't work on offense, it can shut the whole thing down. That's why you have 11 guys disciplined and detailed, you're going to have success on that play.
On LaDarius Henderson
His presence alone, his energy, the way LD, when he walks around the building, this man, man, this guy, he's about it. As soon as he gets his opportunity, he knows he's going to make the most of it. He's a guy always smiling, highly competitive guy. He's definitely one of those guys that I know the younger guys look at, and some of the older guys, because he's played a ton of football. Guys look at him as a leader on this team, as a guy that when he comes in, he's going to do his job and he's going to do it well. LD has been a great addition to our team.
On whether J.J. McCarthy reminds him on Drew Henson
Yeah, they do. Just the athletic traits, the God-given abilities. Just the way the guys have a demeanor about themselves by keeping everybody calm. I've played with quarterbacks where you just feel that stress. Those guys have a way about just relaxing everyone, just letting everyone know that even if a receiver drops a ball. I've played with Drew and I've seen J.J. do it, hey, I'm coming back to you man, just be ready. Make sure you stay locked in. Those are the qualities of a quarterback that takes a whole team to another level because guys—if a quarterback doesn't have their best game, the receivers, O-line, they're doing the same thing to those guys because they're giving that energy off to us.
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